1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gaming systems and, in particular, to gaming systems which provide awards to players as a result of the individual player's performance over multiple iterations of the game.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, gambling has become a very popular form of entertainment throughout the world. One of the most popular forms of gambling or gaming is through gaming machines such as slot machines, video poker machines and other video card machines. These machines are generally configured to dispense awards based on the player obtaining certain winning combinations and to retain a certain percentage of all monies wagered by the players for the owner of the machine. The percent of monies retained by the machine is generally referred to as the hold percentage.
One shortcoming of the typical gaming machine is that the maximum award that can be given by the machine, while still retaining the desired hold percentage for the machine, is limited. The awards given by the machine for certain winning combinations are typically calculated, based on the probability of occurrence of the winning combinations, so that the machine retains the desired hold percentage of monies wagered. Hence, the maximum award that the machine can give for a winning combination is limited by the probability of occurrence of the least likely winning combination.
For example, in the standard video poker game, the maximum award is generally given for the winning combination of a royal flush. The probability of occurrence of a royal flush for a single 52 card deck is approximately 1 in 40,000. Generally, most video poker gaming machines give an award of about 800-1,000 coins per coin wagered for a royal flush. Awards in this range, in conjunction with those awards paid for lesser hands, ensure that a desirable hold percentage of the game is maintained.
It can be appreciated, however, that it is often desirable to increase the maximum award given by a gaming machine without altering the hold percentage. One way of increasing the popularity of a particular gaming machine in a casino environment is to offer extremely large awards for that particular game. However, it is also generally desirable to retain the basic, well-known characteristics of the gaming machine so that players do not have to learn how to play a new game.
One example of where existing games have been slightly altered to allow for larger awards is the linked progressive slot machines. In many gaming establishments, gaming machines, such as slot machines, are electronically linked together and a percentage of all monies wagered on each machine is accrued into a progressive account. The progressive account is then distributed to the first person on one of the linked gaming machines who attains a particular winning combination.
One difficulty with the standard progressive-type gaming machine is that the player is competing against other players for a particular jackpot. If the player stops playing, the player can no longer play for that particular jackpot. Further, once a particular jackpot is won, the progressive machines generally reset the progressive jackpot amount at a lower number. Hence, the progressive jackpot games limit the flexibility of the player to play the game for a particular jackpot at a time of their choosing. Still further, the progressive machines generally dispense the jackpot for only a single particular winning combination and not any of a number of winning combinations.
Another type of gaming system that is used to increase the popularity of a particular game is a player's club system. In this system, each player receives a card which they insert into a gaming machine that is linked to a central computer. The central computer then keeps track of some variables, e.g., the total coins wagered by the player, the time spent by the player playing the game, etc., and offers promotional awards to the player based upon these variables. While this encourages the players to play particular games, the awards given are generally limited in value.
Hence, there is a need for a gaming system that can offer large awards to the players for playing a particular game without limiting the flexibility of the player to select the optimum time to play the game and without changing the basic nature of the game. Further, the gaming system should also be capable of dispensing very large awards so that the hold percentage of the gaming machine is not affected. To this end, it would be desirable to base the award on the probability of obtaining a certain set of winning combinations to thereby support a very large award without significantly affecting the overall hold percentage of the gaming machine.